A Proposed Methodology for Elemental Analysis using portable X-Ray Fluorescence on Lead (Pb) Projectiles

Summary

As the field of battlefield archaeology continues to evolve, adopting new techniques and technologies, it is important that we as a community strive to collaborate, share, and develop standards for which to compare research. The introduction of pXRF technology to source lead projectiles, differentiating their country of origin by trace elements, was presented in 2014 and created a wave of interest in the technology. Unfortunately, this recent fervor has resulted in projects with varied collection methodologies that, at the very least, has resulted in the inability to compare data sets. Since 2015, the National Park Service, The Lamar Institute, and Bruker Industries have led the charge in developing a standard methodology for elemental analysis data collection using pXRF on battlefield projectiles. This standard will allow researchers to compare trends across sites and test for regional and temporal patterns, which until now had been effectively impossible

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Surveying the Field: A Look to the Future of Conflict Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 917